An Upgrade Is Not Just a Technical Migration. It Is a Transformation Decision.

Terracez manages Dynamics 365 upgrades and migrations as transformation programmes — not as technical projects. Every upgrade engagement begins with an assessment of what the organisation wants to change, not just what it wants to move.

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Why Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics 365?

Move to a secure, scalable cloud platform with better flexibility, automation, and long-term savings. Migrating from Microsoft AX to Dynamics 365 isn’t as easy as it sounds. Analyzing new software infrastructure, planning to upgrade older versions, preparing for additional customizations, and checking on for optimal ability are just a few of the complexities involved. There’s a lot more that can make the entire porting process tiring and exhausting.

Intricate customizations and integrations

Bringing your integrations, customizations, and legacy apps from AX to a new environment requires thorough vetting to determine if it can be migrated as-is or reimplemented like a fresh solution.

Problematic data and other key components

Starting with incomplete, disorganized, or inaccurate data sets can easily mess things up. It prevents your business from reaping the benefits of the Dynamics 365 migration to the fullest.

Change management that can get tricky

Migrating from any on-premise solutions to the cloud isn’t just technological shift but cultural too. Resistance from the team can undermine your migration efforts, making it difficult to succeed long-term.

Transitioning outdated versions can pose issues

Extracting data from AX and reimplementing them in Dynamics 365 needs in-depth assessment and expertise. While reconfiguring might sound like a safe bet, it can make the processes more complicated.

Problems with planning and business continuity

The entire migration plan requires proper planning and without it, things can quickly turn topsy-turvy. The end result isn’t just added cost and operational inefficiency but a lot more that directly affects business growth.

Geographic location poses a potential roadblock

Worksites in far off locations, remote places, or areas with bad internet connectivity can make the entire migration process from AX to Dynamics 365 challenging.

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Dynamics AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 upgrade services in UAE and Saudi Arabia

Terracez supports organisations moving from Dynamics AX 2012, Dynamics NAV and legacy Dynamics 365 environments to a modern Dynamics 365 platform. The engagement begins with upgrade readiness, process and operating-model review, data and customisation assessment, governance design and cutover risk before technical execution.

Who it is for

Organisations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia running AX 2012, NAV or older Dynamics 365 environments where operational continuity, customisations, integrations and data quality make a simple technical migration too risky.

Systems we assess

Dynamics AX 2012, Dynamics NAV, legacy Dynamics 365 deployments, related integrations, reporting layers, custom code and data dependencies.

Assessment outputs

Upgrade path recommendation, customisation disposition, data and integration risk register, governance model, cutover approach, business-continuity considerations and a phased mobilisation plan.

How to start

Begin with an executive upgrade-readiness conversation before committing to migration scope or a technical cutover date.

Request an Upgrade Readiness Assessment

The Upgrade Challenge Executives Face

An upgrade that migrates the old operating model into a new system has not transformed anything. It has preserved the problem in a more modern environment.

Organisations running legacy Dynamics AX, Dynamics NAV, or older Dynamics 365 deployments face a recurring challenge. The system that was implemented five or ten years ago was built around processes, structures, and decisions that no longer reflect how the business operates — or how it needs to operate.

An upgrade presents a choice:

The organisation can migrate what exists to a newer version of the platform.
Or it can use the upgrade as an opportunity to redesign how the business operates.

Most organisations default to the first option. The migration is completed. The system is newer. The underlying problems remain.

The organisations that extract genuine value from an upgrade treat it as a transformation programme:

They assess what is working and what is not.
They redesign processes and redefine ownership.
They use the upgrade to build the operating model they should have built the first time.

Dynamics AX 2012 to Dynamics 365: What Must Be Resolved Before Migration

An AX 2012 upgrade should not begin with code conversion. It should begin with a structured decision on what to retain, retire, redesign or replace. Terracez assesses the operating model and upgrade dependencies before the technical work begins so legacy complexity is not simply moved into Dynamics 365.

Customisations and integrations

Catalogue AX 2012 custom code, ISV solutions, interfaces and reporting dependencies. Each item should have an explicit disposition: standard Dynamics 365 capability, redesign, replacement, reimplementation or retirement.

Data and configuration

Identify data-quality issues, historical-data requirements, chart-of-accounts implications, master-data ownership and configuration decisions before migration cycles begin.

Cutover and continuity

Define rehearsal cycles, reconciliation controls, business blackout windows, fallback decisions, hypercare ownership and the minimum operational capability required to protect finance, supply chain and project operations through go-live.

Governance and adoption

Agree decision rights, process ownership, executive escalation, training responsibilities and post-upgrade adoption measures before technical delivery accelerates.

The Terracez Dynamics 365 Upgrade Methodology

Terracez applies the same transformation-first methodology to upgrade engagements that it applies to new implementations. The platform version is changing. The organisation has an opportunity to change with it.

Transformation Intelligence Lifecycle™

Vision. Strategy. Assess. Align. Design. Execute. Govern. Measure. Optimise. Transform Again.

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Before any migration activity begins, Terracez conducts a structured assessment of both the technical landscape and the organisational opportunity:

Executive alignment on what the upgrade should achieve beyond technical migration
Assessment of the current system: customisations, integrations, data quality, and technical debt
Operating model review: what has changed in the business since the original implementation?
Process ownership assessment: are the right people accountable for the right processes?
Identification of transformation opportunities the upgrade can enable
Risk assessment for data migration, cutover, and business continuity

Deliverables include:

Dynamics 365 Upgrade Readiness Report
Customisation Rationalisation Assessment
Transformation Opportunity Map
Data Migration Risk Assessment
Business Continuity and Cutover Plan

Where the assessment identifies operating model improvements, Terracez works with business leadership to redesign before migration begins. This is the work that converts an upgrade from a technical project into a transformation programme.

Future-state process design for functions where the current model is inadequate
Customisation decisions: what to retain, what to retire, what to replace with standard functionality
Data governance and master data redesign
Integration architecture review and redesign where required

With the operating model confirmed and the technical landscape assessed, Terracez executes the migration:

Customisation migration or rationalisation
Data cleansing, transformation, and migration
Integration redevelopment or reconfiguration
Configuration aligned to the agreed future-state operating model
Testing strategy: unit, integration, user acceptance, and performance
Training design and delivery for changed processes and new capabilities
Cutover planning and Go-Live management

Post-upgrade, Terracez monitors adoption of new capabilities, process compliance, and business KPI performance through the Alignyx platform. The objective is to ensure the upgrade delivers the transformation outcomes that justified the investment.

User adoption monitoring and intervention
Executive adoption and reporting quality
Process compliance measurement
Business KPI tracking against the agreed Success Framework
Continuous improvement programme
Ongoing Alignyx monitoring for transformation health

Why Dynamics 365 Upgrades Fail: The Stakeholder Alignment Problem

An upgrade programme carries a specific and underappreciated risk. Because it is framed as a technical migration, the organisational work is deprioritised.

Business leaders assume the project team will handle it. The project team assumes business leaders are aligned. Neither assumption is tested. The result is an upgrade that completes on schedule but does not change how the business operates. The new system runs the same processes, with the same ownership gaps, and the same governance weaknesses that existed in the old one. Stakeholder alignment in an upgrade context is not simply about getting sign-off on a migration plan. It is about ensuring that the executive team has agreed on what the upgraded system should enable the business to do differently — and that each business leader understands their accountability for making that happen. Without that agreement, the upgrade becomes a technical success and a business disappointment.

How Alignyx Supports Dynamics 365 Upgrade Programme Alignment

The Alignyx platform provides a structured mechanism for measuring and monitoring stakeholder alignment throughout an upgrade programme. This is particularly valuable in upgrade engagements because the programme team is often focused on technical complexity, and alignment signals can deteriorate without being noticed. Alignyx supports upgrade alignment through:

Baseline Alignment Assessment

Establishes the current state of executive alignment before the upgrade begins, identifying misalignment risks that need to be resolved before migration activity starts

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Executive Dashboard

Gives programme sponsors real-time visibility into alignment health, governance maturity, and readiness signals across the upgrade programme

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Transformation Governance Monitoring

Tracks whether governance structures are functioning — decisions are being made, escalations are being resolved, and business ownership is being maintained

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Business Readiness Tracking

Monitors readiness across affected business functions as the upgrade progresses, flagging deterioration before it affects Go-Live

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Post-Upgrade Adoption Monitoring

Tracks adoption of new capabilities after migration, ensuring that the upgrade delivers the intended operational improvements

When Alignyx identifies misalignment in any of these dimensions, it surfaces the signal to executive leadership before it becomes a programme risk. This is the difference between identifying a governance problem in week three of assessment and discovering it in month eight of implementation.

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The Upgrade Alignment Programme

Terracez structures stakeholder alignment as a dedicated workstream alongside the technical migration, governed at executive level. Key activities include: • Pre-upgrade alignment workshops to agree transformation objectives and accountabilities • Operating model reviews to identify required process and ownership changes • Governance design covering decision rights and escalation paths • Continuous alignment monitoring through Alignyx • Post-migration reviews to assess sustained alignment and adoption The objective is to ensure the upgrade changes how the business operates, rather than simply moving the existing operating model onto a newer platform.

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What Terracez Manages in an Upgrade Engagement

Terracez has experience managing complex Dynamics 365 upgrade and migration programmes across the GCC, including:

Upgrade / Migration	Terracez Scope
Dynamics AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations	the most common enterprise upgrade in the region, requiring careful assessment of customisations, integrations, data structures, and operating model changes
Dynamics NAV to Dynamics 365 Business Central	migration for mid-market organisations moving to cloud-based ERP
On-premise to cloud migration	moving existing Dynamics 365 deployments to Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure
Version upgrades within Dynamics 365	moving between major release versions with minimal disruption
Customisation rationalisation	assessing legacy customisations against standard platform capabilities to reduce technical debt

Key Considerations for GCC Dynamics 365 Upgrade Programmes

Consideration

Legacy customisations

Data quality

Business continuity

ZATCA and regulatory compliance

Integration complexity

Change management

Operating model improvement

Terracez Approach

Assessed against standard D365 capabilities; rationalised where possible

Assessed, cleansed, and governed before migration

Cutover planning and parallel run strategy designed for operational risk

Compliance requirements assessed and configured for Saudi operations

Integration landscape mapped and redesigned where required

Adoption risk assessed; change programme designed before Go-Live

Upgrade used as opportunity to redesign, not just migrate

What You Gain From Upgrading to Dynamics 365 - A game-changer for your business

Yesterday’s digital architecture won’t meet today’s need for flexibility, innovation, and speed. That’s why upgrading your older version to Dynamics 365 is more important than ever. From enhanced security to efficiency to saved costs, the upgraded version will let your business reap benefits in unexpected ways.

Start Your Upgrade Risk-Free.

All under one roof with Cloud Native Architecture

Have your CRM, ERP, IoT, Business Intelligence (BI), and everything else at one location – on the cloud. Enable seamless access so everyone in the ecosystem can work from anywhere, together.

Reduced IT Maintenance

Microsoft takes full responsibility for updating and monitoring not just the platform but also the applications. This helps your business eliminate investing on additional systems or on-premises server costs.

Lower Cost & Higher Scalability

No more planning for server space because Dynamics 365 tackles care of that. Effortlessly scale up or down based on your requirements. Have the flexibility to pick from on-cloud, on-premise, or hybrid platforms.

Enhanced security

With cloud-based apps, hacks and malicious threats are never a question. Dynamics 365 is more secure. It monitors and counter-attacks every active threat 24/7 to ensure nothing goes down.

Improved Team Synergy

With cloud, your platform is accessible and compatible. Since Microsoft standardizes these apps, they seamlessly work with a SSO (Single Sign-On) and are integrated exceptionally.

Straightforward updates

The beauty of Microsoft 365 is that it launches platform updates once in 3 months whereas application updates once in 6 months, which enables businesses to stay on top with the latest technology.

We Cater To Multiple Industries

Manufacturing

Construction & EPC

Holding Companies & Diversified Groups

Government & Public Sector

Energy & Utilities

Distribution & Supply Chain

Food & Beverage

Real Estate Development

Explore Our Industry Solutions

Who This Is For

Dynamics 365 upgrade and migration services from Terracez are designed for:

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CEOs and Transformation Directors

leading enterprise ERP programmes

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CFOs and Finance Directors

driving finance transformation

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COOs and Operations Directors

transforming supply chain, manufacturing, or field operations

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CIOs

responsible for enterprise ERP strategy and delivery

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PMO Directors

managing complex, multi-workstream transformation programmes

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Organisations across GCC

implementing Dynamics 365 for the first time or replacing

What Our Clients Say

Trusted by brands across industries

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"Terracez helped us to achieve the business critical requirement of upgrading AX 2012 to D365 within our timelines. It was important for us to completely upgrade in 2 months which they achieved well before, where other MS partners told was not possible to do."

Kareem Jamal, GEMS

Business Application Head

"Terracez team is a great consultancy, which follows an agile approach to solve any kind of business issues. We are adding a lot of automation with their experienced and highly-skilled team in the manufacturing domain."

Zubair N. Kozhissery, Arnon KSA

Information Technology Head

"We wanted a partner to support in transitioning SATS’ processes to comply with the new regulation quickly. Terracez understood our business and helped us in enabling the process efficiency without compromising on compliance."

Mohammed Shareef, SATS

Finance Controller

Dynamics 365 Upgrade FAQs

How long does an AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 upgrade take?

The timeline depends on customisations, integrations, data quality, legal entities, testing scope and how much process redesign is required. Terracez establishes these dependencies during readiness assessment before committing to a delivery plan.

What drives Dynamics 365 upgrade cost?

The main cost drivers are custom code, integrations, data migration complexity, reporting requirements, number of entities and environments, testing effort, process redesign, localisation requirements and cutover support.

What happens to AX 2012 customisations?

Customisations should not be migrated automatically. Each one should be assessed against current business need and standard Dynamics 365 capability, then retained, redesigned, replaced or retired with an explicit business owner and rationale.

How do you reduce cutover risk?

Reduce cutover risk through rehearsal migrations, reconciliation criteria, named decision owners, operational readiness checks, rollback decisions, controlled blackout windows and a defined hypercare model.

How do you protect business continuity during an upgrade?

Business continuity is designed into the programme by identifying critical operational processes, integration dependencies, reporting requirements and fallback procedures before go-live. Technical cutover should proceed only when business readiness and continuity controls are acceptable.

Is Your Organisation Ready to Use the Dynamics 365 Upgrade as a Transformation Opportunity?

Every Terracez upgrade engagement begins with an honest assessment of what the organisation wants to achieve — not a migration checklist.

Request an Dynamics 365 Upgrade Readiness Conversation

See How Alignyx Monitors Alignment Throughout an Dynamics 365 Upgrade Programme

No obligation. No sales process. A senior Terracez advisor will assess your current system landscape, identify the transformation opportunity, and outline what a transformation-first upgrade programme looks like.